My travelogue of a journey through 1000 bars in 1 year, and more, much more.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Daiquiri Dick's Mix Off

Yesterday was Daiquiri Dick's first Mix Off and the featured coctail was to be, no surprise, a daiquiri. They said if this one went well they would have more Mix Offs in the future featuring different drinks.

The sign-up said entrants should be at Daiquiri Dick's by 4:30 PM and I wanted to make sure I was there early.

Ready With My Game Face

I guess that meant 4:30 PM Mexican time, because the place was pretty empty when I showed up.

Where Is Everybody?

Now, when I say Mexican time, I am not being insulting. In Mexico showing up on time for a social engagement is considered to be a bit rude. Generally you are expected to show up about an hour late. This even holds true for business appointments where being about a half-an-hour late is considered being on time.

Anyway, when I asked where I should sign-in nobody seemed to know anything about this Mix Off.

Mix Off, Or Mix Up?

I was begining to wonder if I had gotten my dates mixed up.

A Bit Confused

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I decided to try a couple of the drinks off their menu. I ordered an Apple Daiquiri and didn't think it was very good. The over-powering taste was that of DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker. It did have fresh apple in it, but this just served to clog up the straw. It just wasn't my cup of tea, so to speak.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman ordered a Pina Colada, primarily to make sure they had the coconut cream that I needed for my daiquiri recipe. I was happy to see that they did, unless they used some pre-made Pina Colada mix.

Doing Due Diligence

Pretty soon, though, there was a bit of activity amongst the waiters and a lady in blue showed up to take charge.

Something Is Going On

Eventually a blender and some liquor appeared so I began to relax a bit. Still, though, I was the only one there and it was now approaching 5:00 PM.

Checking Things Out

I saw that they had a bottle of Appleton Jamaican Rum and I figured they must have gotten my ingredients list because I didn't think too many others would use it.

Eventually more and more ingredients began to show up so I started to relax a bit. Or maybe it was the Apple Daiquiri that was relaxing me.

More Ingredients

And then the people started to pour in.

The Crowd Begins To Form

I did my part by trying to bribe the judges who looked suspiciously like they had just stepped out of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Just A Step To The Left

Many of my friends showed up to support me and, let's be honest, without their support I wouldn't have won the popular vote. Not that they were the only ones voting for me, but they were probably the loudest.

My Support Group

Well, Marcie isn't in the picture because she took it. But more about Marcie later.

The contest was being covered quite extensively. Of course everyone seemed to have a camera, but there was also someone, and I forgot her name, filming the event. She said it would be posted on Daiquiri Dick's website and maybe a few other places as well. When I find out more I will be sure to post links.

A Well Covered Event

Ready For Your Close-Up

Basically, two people at a time, starting with the professionals, made their drinks. You had to make a fair amount of them too. Enough for the judges, of course, and then enough to pass around to the crowd. I ended up making to batches each of which filled a blender. And that was before shaking with the ice. I had just enough bananas.

Because I was in the amateur I had a chance to sample some of the professional offerings before I had to do my stuff.

Not All Were To My Liking

If you are ever going to make a daiquiri using kiwi, be sure you strain the drink. All the seeds kind of get stuck in your teeth. At least the ones that don't settle to the bottom of the glass giving the drink a somewhat unattractive appearance.

And then it was my turn to show off my stuff. I was right about the Appleton Jamaican Rum, nobody else was using it.

Cracking The Bottle

Careful Measurement Is The Key

Nothing But Fresh Lime Juice

Pouring The Final Result

Tasting The Result

Well, it tasted fine to me, but then I was a bit biased. My friends did their share of testing as well.

This Is The Fun Part

Oh, yes, let's not forget Marcie.

Marcie, My Publicist

Marcie felt that the fact that I was, after all, the Bar Man, would be of interest so she went out of her way to inform the person doing the filming of my exploits. I didn't think this was too big a deal but Marcie hit the nail on the head. Next thing you knew she had me wired for sound and came back twice for an on-camera interview.

Ready For My Close-Up

Let's Get Some Perspective

What would I do without Marcie?

And then the judging took place. As I mentioned, I didn't win the judges award but I was an overwhelming crowd favorite.

And The Winner Is...

The Mysterious Chinese Woman shared my joy.

I Thought She Might Poof

And then the obligatory pictures of the judges, winners, and also-rans.

Say Queso

Daiquiri Dick's did a very nice job with this, in my opinion. Especially given that it was their first attempt. Being an entrant I didn't have to pay anything, but the 100 peso admission for everyone else was, in my opinion, a real bargain.

First of all you got fairly generous portions of nine different daiquiris. And then they passed out some really good little snacks.

Little Treats

Bill was a little suspicious of the cerviche.

Will It Bite?

Surprisingly, he actually liked it. Will wonders never cease.

And then it was time to head home. And we had a lovely sunset to end a lovely day.

Blend all of the ingredients in, well, this should be obvious, a blender until smooth.

Pour the blended mixture into a cocktail shaker half-full of ice and shake vigorously.

Strain into a glass.

Feel free to play with the recipe until you get a drink that you like. Everyone's tastes are a bit different. This is the recipe that I used, though. It has a bit of a kick to it, so be careful and only give the kids a little bit.